Civil, military GPS program: Congress sets budget. (Global View).

GPS satellite acquisition was allocated $172.7 million and GPS III modernization, $78.4 million, in the 2002 Department of Defense Appropriations Act signed into law by President Bush on January 10. The GPS system also received $180.5 million for space and control segment operations.

Earlier, the GPS Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS), and Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) programs received allocations in the fiscal year 2002 (FY02) tranportation appropriations bill, which Bush signed in December.

The final figure represents a resolution of differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee had approved an Air Force request of $23.7 million for advance procurement for modifications to GPS satellites and approved the requested level for Global Positioning (Space) at $177.7 million. The House version passed on November 28 deleted the funds for advance procurement for satellite modifications, instead recommending deferral of the purchase of those parts until fiscal 2003. The committee reduced the $177.8 million request for Global Positioning (Space) by $25 million to $152,719,000.

The appropriation measure also provides $53.1 million for acquisition of user equipment.

The FY 2002 transportation appropriation includes $43.1 million for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) LAAS program, $9 million more than requested. LAAS is designed to provide airports with the capability to land aircraft in conditions of reduced visibility.

The conference committee fully funded WAAS at $80.9 million for FY02. WAAS uses geostationary satellites and a ground-based network of reference stations to provide enhanced GPS system integrity alerts and signal accuracy and availability to enable CAT-1 capabilities. The allocation includes $5 million for initial funds for geostationary satellite services.

The conferees cited continuing concerns about WAAS schedule delays and certification …